Troubled national championship outing after busy international racing programme

Christian Berrington-Smith has already dipped his toes into international motocross racing waters despite being only 12 years old.

The South African delegation was at fever pitch as they arrived in Vantaa, Finland, for the Big One, the Junior World Championships. Nearly 70 of the world’s best 85cc riders competed for recognition, with only 40 making the cut to compete in the final on Sunday, September 4. The pressure was intense, and Christian knew from the first practice session that this was going to be a difficult mountain to scale..

During qualifying practice, he posted the 29th fastest time in his group, relegating him to the last-chance qualifying race, as only the top 18 riders in time practice made the direct cut to the final. As the 30 non-qualified riders lined up for the last-chance race, the tension reached a fever pitch.

Only four of them would make the cut for the final, and a good start was therefore crucial on the very rough track that Vantaa had presented them. Christian found himself in the top half of the field for most of the race and eventually finished 16th, which unfortunately ended his world championship campaign then and there. Nonetheless, it was a massive experience haul and a steep learning curve that he had managed to somewhat scramble up.

After a challenging – and exhausting – journey home, there was barely time to catch a breath before the headlights pointed in the direction of Welkom for the penultimate round of the South African championships. Christian was upbeat during qualifying, thanks to his international experience, and finished fourth. Unfortunately, that was the end of the good news for the day.

Christian finished 13th after a mechanical issue occurred early in the first race. Dad Wayne worked tirelessly between races to rebuild the bike, but he was once again foiled, this time by a suspected ignition problem. Christian retired from the race after the bike sputtering around the track, a disappointing end to a race day that had promised so much in the morning.